Attractiveness Ratings Research Articles

Internetinės pažinčių programėlės: kaip vyro patrauklumo vertinimas priklauso nuo jo atsiskleidimo ir moterų vienišumo lygio

The link between self-disclosure and attractiveness is well-researched, yet studies often overlook the rater’s loneliness, a potentially vital aspect in this dynamic. The aim of this study is to examine how women evaluate a man’s social and physical attractiveness in dating app profiles based on disclosed personal information. Additionally, it explores the connection between women’s feelings of loneliness and their assessment of social attractiveness in this context. 90 students, aged from 19 to 26, participated in the study. Participants were randomly assigned to three groups. All groups were presented with the same two photographs of a man but differed in the amount and depth of information presented next to each one (high, optimal, and no exposure). The UCLA Loneliness Scale (version 3) was used to measure loneliness, and the Interpersonal Attractiveness Scale was used to measure attractiveness. The study discovered that women rated a man disclosing an optimal amount of information as more physically attractive than one sharing excessive details. There were no between-group differences in ratings of a man’s social attractiveness. Although social attractiveness ratings correlated negatively with women’s loneliness (r = -0.32), loneliness did not significantly influence social attractiveness ratings based on disclosure levels.

Beauty is in the nose of the beholder: Fragrance modulates attractiveness, confidence and femininity ratings and neural responses to faces of self and others

Previous research investigated cross-modal influence of olfactory stimuli on perception and evaluation of faces. However, little is known about the neural dynamics underpinning this multisensory perception, and no research examined perception for images of oneself, and others, in presence of fragrances. This study investigated the neural mechanisms of olfactory-visual processing using electroencephalography (EEG) and subjective evaluations of self- and other-images.22 female participants evaluated images of female actors and themselves while being exposed to the fragrance of a commercially available body wash or clean air delivered via olfactometer. Participants rated faces for attractiveness, femininity, confidence and glamorousness on visual analogue scales. EEG data was recorded and event-related potentials (ERPs) associated with onset of face stimuli were analysed to consider effects of fragrance presence on face processing, and interactions between fragrance and self-other image-type.Subjective ratings of confidence, attractiveness and femininity were increased for both image-types in pleasant fragrance relative to clean air condition. ERP components covering early-to-late stages of face processing were modulated by the presence of fragrance. Findings also revealed a cross-modal fragrance-face interaction, with pleasant fragrance particularly affecting ERPs to self-images in mid-latency ERP components.Results showed that the pleasant fragrance of the commercially available body wash impacted how participants perceived faces of self and others. Self- and other-image faces were subjectively rated as more attractive, confident and feminine in the presence of the pleasant fragrance compared to an un-fragranced control. The pleasant fragrance also modulated underlying electrophysiological activity. For the first time, an effect of pleasant fragrance on face perception was observed in the N1 component, suggesting impact within 100 ms. Pleasant fragrance also demonstrated greater impact on subsequent neural processing for self, relative to other-faces. The findings have implications for understanding multisensory integration during evaluations of oneself and others.

Anatomical variants of acne differ in their impact on social perception.

Acne negatively affects quality of life, however quality-of-life scores poorly correlate with disease severity scores. Previous research demonstrated existence of facial areas in which skin lesions have greater impact on gaze patterns. Therefore, we hypothesized that anatomical variants of acne may be perceived differently. The aim was to investigate effect of anatomical variants of acne on natural gaze patterns and resulting impact on social perception of acne patients. We tracked eye movements of participants viewing neutral and emotional faces with acne. Images were rated for acne-related visual disturbance, and emotional faces were rated for valence intensity. Respondents of an online survey were asked to rate their perception of pictured individuals' personality traits. All faces with acne were perceived as less attractive and received poorer personality judgements with mid-facial acne presenting smallest deviation from healthy faces. T-zone and mixed acne exhibited the least significant difference in respondents gaze behaviour pattern from each other. In addition, there was no significant difference in respondents' grading of acne visual disturbance or ratings for attractiveness, success and trustworthiness. U-zone adult female acne was rated as the most visually disturbing and received the lowest scores for attractiveness. Happy faces with adult female acne were rated as less happy compared to other acne variants and clear-skin faces. Anatomic variants of acne have a distinct impact on gaze patterns and social perception. Adult female acne has the strongest negative effect on recognition of positive emotions in affected individuals, attractiveness ratings and forming social impressions. If perioral acne lesions are absent, frontal lesions determine impact of acne on social perception irrespective of the presence of mid-facial lesions. This perceptive hierarchy should be taken into consideration while deciding treatment goals in acne patients, prioritizing achieving remission in perioral and frontal area.

Artificial Intelligence Versus Human Focus Group Rating of Facial Attractiveness.

Background: Many open-access artificial intelligence (AI)-based websites that rate facial attractiveness are available, but none have been compared with human focus group outcomes. Objective: To compare human and AI-based websites scoring of facial attractiveness of adult female white faces. Methods: A 40-photograph database of AI-generated adult, white, female, expressionless, and frontal-view facial images were scored by otolaryngology residents and five AI-based facial rating websites: prettyscale.com, attractivenesstest.com, face-score.com/en, hotchat3000.com, and beautyscoretest.com. Sample t-test and bivariate correlation were performed for statistical analyses. Results: The focus group of 24 otolaryngology residents consisted of 62.5% males and 58.3% white participants. There was a strong positive correlation between average human score and average AI score for each photo (Pearson's correlation 0.84, p < 0.01). The average human raters' scores were significantly lower than the average AI scores (5.0 ± 1.8 vs. 6.9 ± 0.9, p < 0.01). Thirty images (75.0%) had statistically higher scores from the AI websites versus the focus group. On correlation analysis, all AI-based websites individually had scores that positively correlate with the human scores (all p < 0.05). Conclusion: AI-based websites and human focus-group scoring of facial attractiveness of adult white female faces were significantly correlated with the AI ratings biased toward higher values, encouraging their cautious utilization in future research.

Contextual modulation of the red-attractiveness effect: Differences in affiliation and competitive settings

Color is not just about aesthetics but also communicates specific information and has important implications for psychological functioning. It has been shown that the color red enhances perceived attractiveness when evaluating the opposite sex, which we call the red-attractiveness effect. However, few studies have attached importance to the social context in which attractiveness ratings are made, which means that the red-attractiveness effect is rarely explained by analyzing the role of social context. We conducted two experiments to test the red-attractiveness effect in Chinese culture and the influence of context (affiliation or competitive) on the red-attractiveness effect. Experiment 1 (160 Chinese college students, 80 males) showed that the opposite-sex target in red, compared to white, was rated more attractive, and the red-attractiveness effect was applicable to Chinese culture. Experiment 2 (480 Chinese college students, 240 males) found that perceived attractiveness was strengthened in the affiliation context and weakened in the competitive context, that is, the main effect of context was significant. We did not find any significant effect of the color red in either context, that is, the color main effect was not significant. However, the results indicate that red can enhance perceived attractiveness when evaluating the opposite sex. This study demonstrates that the red attractiveness effect may exist in different cultural backgrounds and contexts.

Differential preferences in breast aesthetics by self-identified demographics assessed on a national survey

There is a paucity of literature examining how preferences differ amongst various demographic groups. This study aimed to assess how perceptions of the ideal breast differ between respondents stratified by self-identified demographic factors. A cohort of 25 patients from the senior surgeon’s practice presenting for breast surgery was assembled. Pre-operative anteroposterior photographs of these patients were distributed via Qualtrics (Seattle, WA) to a large sample designed to be representative of the demographics of the United States. Survey questions aimed to measure respondents’ impressions of “breast attractiveness.” Respondents were asked to rate breasts on a Likert scale. Survey responses were analyzed for differences in breast aesthetic preferences by sex, gender, sexual orientation, and race. Males rated all breasts higher on the Likert scale for attractiveness than females (2.8 vs 2.5, p<0.001). Despite this discrepancy, ratings amongst male and female respondents were highly correlated with one another (R=0.940; p<0.0001). Considering sexual orientation, individuals attracted to women provided significantly higher attractiveness ratings to all breasts compared to individuals attracted to men only (2.8 vs 2.5, p<0.001). White or Caucasian individuals ascribed significantly higher breast attractiveness ratings than Asian individuals (2.7 vs 2.2, p<0.001), but not Black or African American individuals (2.7 vs 2.4, p=0.23). Despite these racial discrepancies in mean breast attractiveness, ratings amongst the three groups were highly correlated. In a sample representative of the United States, a difference in breast aesthetic appraisal was observed by demographic factors. These findings merit further investigation to understand these trends and observations.

An Exploration of the Physiological and Psychological Aspects of Student Anxiety Using a Greenspace Restorative Environment Based on Virtual Reality: A Controlled Experiment in Nanjing College

Psychological anxiety among college students has attracted research interest. Previous studies have shown that greenspaces play a positive role in the recovery of student health. However, limited studies have explored the benefits of restorative environmental greenspace components. Therefore, this study used virtual reality to conduct control variable experiments. Considering the terrain scene, pavement material, and green vision rate as research elements, we monitored the skin conductance level and heart rate variability of 36 college students, as well as the positive and negative affect schedule and perceptual recovery scales, and we found that terrain elements have a significant impact on perceptual recovery, while pavement material has a significant impact on physiological recovery. Significant differences in perceptual recovery scores and changes in negative emotions among the different green vision levels were also observed. According to the regression relationship, the scene’s attractiveness rating was the highest when the scene’s green vision rate was 50%, while at 48%, the positive emotional improvement was the highest, and at 40%, the negative emotional improvement was the greatest.

Voice-based judgments of sex, height, weight, attractiveness, health, and psychological traits based on free speech versus scripted speech.

How do we perceive others based on their voices? This question has attracted research and media attention for decades, producing hundreds of studies showing that the voice is socially and biologically relevant, but these studies vary in methodology and ecological validity. Here we test whether vocalizers producing read versus free speech are judged similarly by listeners on ten biological and/or psychosocial traits. In perception experiments using speech from 208 men and women and ratings from 4,088 listeners, we show that listeners' assessments of vocalizer sex and age are highly accurate, regardless of speech type. Assessments ofbody size, femininity-masculinity and women'shealth also did not differ between free and read speech. In contrast, read speech elicited higher ratings of attractiveness, dominanceand trustworthiness in both sexes and of health in males compared tofree speech. Importantly, these differences were small, and we additionally show moderate to strong correlations between ratings of the same vocalizers based on their read and free speech for all ten traits, indicating that voice-based judgments are highly consistent within speakers, whether or not speech is spontaneous. Our results provide evidence that the human voice can communicate various biological and psychosocial traits via both read and free speech, with theoretical and practical implications.

Male facial cues to physical strength in Europe: Medium-strength preference and higher aggressiveness attribution to the weakest.

The capacity to assess male physical strength from facial cues may be adaptive given health and fitness-related associations with muscular strength. Our study complements recent research on strength-related face perceptions of male Maasai by applying the protocol to male European faces and assessors. Five distinct facial morphs calibrated for handgrip strength (HGS) were manufactured with geometric morphometrics performing regressions of the Procrustes shape coordinates on HGS in a sample of 26 European men (18-32 years). Young adult men and women (n = 445) rated these morphs on physical strength, attractiveness, and aggressiveness. Facial morphs calibrated to lower HGS were rated as less strong, less attractive, and more aggressive than those calibrated to higher HGS. Medium levels of HGS were associated with the highest attractiveness ratings. The rating patterns of physical strength, attractiveness, and aggressiveness for European male facial morphs exhibit similarity to previous ratings of Maasai male faces. Therefore, the current findings corroborate the suggestion of a common mechanism for social attributions based on facial cues to physical strength, modulated by local ecology and societal context.

Facial symmetry perception and attractiveness ratings in body dysmorphic disorder

Cognitive-behavioral models of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) conceptualize biases in visual information processing as maintaining factors of the disorder. Empirical findings point to selective attentional mechanisms and a detail-oriented information processing style in facial perception, which are related to perceived facial aesthetics. However, so far, it remains unclear whether higher discrimination abilities of facial symmetry and related attractiveness ratings contribute to the mind as a filter in BDD. BDD (n = 25) and mentally healthy subjects (n = 25) rated symmetry and attractiveness of fifty animated, three-dimensional facial photographs characterized by diverging geometrical symmetry. Main findings emerging from mixed effects models indicated that perceived symmetry, but not objective symmetry, predicted perceived attractiveness. Group status did not predict symmetry or attractiveness ratings. Exploratory analyses indicated potentially clinically relevant mechanisms of symmetry ratings in BDD and revealed faster attractiveness ratings in unattractive vs. attractive faces across groups. Our findings refute the hypothesis of higher discrimination abilities of facial symmetry as a maintaining factor in BDD. Implications for attention and perception retraining in the context of cognitive-behavioral therapy for BDD are discussed.

Adolescent Facial Attractiveness and Later Life Morbidity, Cognition, and Mortality

Are associations between ratings of adolescents’ attractiveness and their adult health, cognitive functioning, and longevity plausibly causal, or are they confounded by factors correlated with judgements about attractiveness? How do these processes differ for women and men? Using data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, the authors estimate the impact of judgements about adolescent facial attractiveness on 35 cognitive, health, and mortality outcomes through age 72. Ratings of adolescent facial attractiveness are predictive of later life outcomes among women, but mainly because ratings of young women’s attractiveness are closely connected with women’s socioeconomic standing and body mass in early life. The same is not true for men. People use different standards to evaluate the attractiveness of women and men; these differences induce largely noncausal associations between ratings of young women’s attractiveness and their cognition, morbidity, and mortality.

Facial profile esthetics and its correlation with cephalometric measurements in Class II patients before and after functional orthodontic treatment: perception of orthodontists and laypersons

Orthodontists heavily rely on cephalometric measurements to evaluate the esthetic outcomes of orthodontic treatments, while patients’ assessments of profile attractiveness are influenced by their personal esthetic preferences. The objective of this study was to compare facial esthetic evaluations between orthodontists and laypersons, examine the correlation between cephalometric measurements and assessments of facial attractiveness, and identify the cephalometric measurements that are most associated with profile attractiveness in teenage Class II patients. This study included 28 patients (17 boys and 11 girls, mean age of 11.83 ± 1.48 years) who fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were treated with activator appliances. An experienced orthodontist conducted objective cephalometric analyses before and after the treatment. The standard profiles of patients, pre- and post-treatment, were independently evaluated by 10 orthodontists and 20 laypersons. Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the relationships between objective cephalometric values and subjective facial esthetic ratings. The results indicated that laypersons generally assigned lower ratings to facial attractiveness compared to orthodontists. Significant differences in evaluations between orthodontists and laypersons were noted in the ratings of the upper lip position before treatment and the ratings of overall attractiveness, lower lip position and chin position after treatment. In addition, there were substantial correlations between objective measurements and the subjective scores provided by orthodontists. In contrast, the esthetic evaluations by laypersons correlated with only a limited set of objective measurements. The positions of the upper and lower incisors, the relationship of the upper and lower lip to E-line, and the Mentocervical Angle showed significant correlations with esthetic scores. In conclusion, the study reveals that laypersons were more critical of facial profiles compared to orthodontists. Notably, the positions of the upper and lower incisors, the E-line and the Mentocervical Angle had a significant impact on facial esthetics, highlighting their importance in evaluating orthodontic outcomes.

The role of investment projects in ensuring the economic security of regions

The main purpose of the work is to assess the impact of investment projects on ensuring the economic security of the country. It is concluded that investments are one of the main characteristics of the state's activities and allow solving existing economic or social problems, including those that can be aimed at achieving national interests, thereby ensuring stable economic security of the country. The article solves the following tasks: an assessment of the investment attractiveness of the regions of the Russian Federation and the Kursk region was carried out; an assessment of the current level of investment activity in the region was carried out. Attention is paid to the study of the state program of the Russian Federation "Economic development and innovative Economy" and its directions, an analysis of the financing of subprograms. Also, the rating of the investment attractiveness of the regions is considered. The methodological basis of the research is based on a set of methods of economic research combined with a systematic approach to the study of this problem. Currently, the economy of the Russian Federation is facing many problems caused by the difficult political situation, sanctions against Russia and other reasons. Achieving socio-economic goals has become impossible without investing. The role of investments is high, since thanks to the investment, the accumulation of public capital is carried out, they contribute to economic growth, the renewal of technologies, the improvement of professional qualities the employees and the development of infrastructure. They also can be aimed at achieving national interests, thereby ensuring stable economic security of the country. Investments are one of the driving forces of economic development, since they make it possible to modernize existing and create new business facilities, and can also be aimed at solving other socio-economic problems.

INVESTMENT ATTRACTIVENESS OF UKRAINE'S ECONOMY AS A DOMINANT FACTOR IN ATTRACTING INTERNATIONAL CAPITAL: ANALYSIS, PROSPECTS, PRIORITIES

The article analyses and proves the expediency of assessing the investment attractiveness of the Ukrainian economy on the basis of international ratings. The main task of the scientific publication is the analysis of the current state of investment attractiveness of the national economy and the determination of priority directions of its further strategic development. The concretisation of methodological approaches to the assessment of the level of investment attractiveness of the national economy through the prism of rating assessments of various agencies becomes a prerequisite for the formation of modern methods, principles, forms and priority tools of state regulation of this process. The use of innovative methods and methods of conducting scientific research in the context of determining the level of investment attractiveness of the national economy is a fundamental element of the model of successful attraction of investment capital and implementation of long-term strategic investment decisions. The subject of the scientific article is a rating of the investment attractiveness of the national economy from the perspective of the post-war period. The methodology of scientific research is based on the need to determine the level of economic efficiency of investment capital in modern conditions of globalisation transformations in the economy of Ukraine. The paper reveals the main issues of the methodology of investment decision analysis and the definition of criteria of efficiency of investment capital attraction to the national economy. The criteria of selection, justification and adoption of balanced management decisions are detailed and analysed. The purpose of this study is a comprehensive analysis of the state's position in international rating assessments of investment attractiveness, identification of key factors influencing the formation of a high level of investment attractiveness of the Ukrainian economy and search for ways to increase it by attracting additional investment capital. The conclusion of the publication is the search for ways to ensure a high level of investment attractiveness of Ukraine's economy as a dominant factor in attracting international investment capital. The fundamental strategic priority of the state investment policy is to form a comprehensive mechanism for ensuring a high level of investment attractiveness of the economy by developing a long-term programme for ensuring a high level of investment attractiveness of the national economy.

საინვესტიციო გარემოს შეფასების აქტუალური საკითხები

საინვესტიციო გარემოს შეფასების აქტუალური საკითხები

How Does Blue Infrastructure Affect the Attractiveness Rating of Residential Areas? Case Study of Olsztyn City, Poland

Blue Infrastructure (BI) is a system of water-based ecological and engineering interactions that provides multiple social and ecosystem benefits in an urbanized environment. The study answers the questions: (1) Can the assessment of the attractiveness of residential areas be influenced by the availability of water reservoirs with a specific functionality? (2) What are the indicators that determine this impact? The research aimed to develop a methodology for the evaluation of residential neighborhood spaces, considering the indicator of the functional value of water bodies and their accessibility. The following research hypothesis, that the recreational and esthetic functions of water bodies along with the accompanying infrastructure are the most attractive features that hold the greatest significance in evaluating residential areas close to them, was verified. Cartographic and field inventory studies were conducted to prove this. An inventory form was applied along with social research using a geo-survey to determine the ranking of individual water bodies. As part of the test of the developed method, all water bodies in the city of Olsztyn (northern Poland) were evaluated. The test revealed that the indicators related to the functional value of water bodies and their accessibility influence the assessment of the residential neighborhoods’ attractiveness. Therefore, they should be considered in the assessment of cities containing both natural and anthropogenic water bodies.

User-Centered Development of STOP (Successful Treatment for Paranoia): Material Development and Usability Testing for a Digital Therapeutic for Paranoia.

Paranoia is a highly debilitating mental health condition. One novel intervention for paranoia is cognitive bias modification for paranoia (CBM-pa). CBM-pa comes from a class of interventions that focus on manipulating interpretation bias. Here, we aimed to develop and evaluate new therapy content for CBM-pa for later use in a self-administered digital therapeutic for paranoia called STOP ("Successful Treatment of Paranoia"). This study aimed to (1) take a user-centered approach with input from living experts, clinicians, and academics to create and evaluate paranoia-relevant item content to be used in STOP and (2) engage with living experts and the design team from a digital health care solutions company to cocreate and pilot-test the STOP mobile app prototype. We invited 18 people with living or lived experiences of paranoia to create text exemplars of personal, everyday emotionally ambiguous scenarios that could provoke paranoid thoughts. Researchers then adapted 240 suitable exemplars into corresponding intervention items in the format commonly used for CBM training and created 240 control items for the purpose of testing STOP. Each item included newly developed, visually enriching graphics content to increase the engagement and realism of the basic text scenarios. All items were then evaluated for their paranoia severity and readability by living experts (n=8) and clinicians (n=7) and for their item length by the research team. Items were evenly distributed into six 40-item sessions based on these evaluations. Finalized items were presented in the STOP mobile app, which was co-designed with a digital health care solutions company, living or lived experts, and the academic team; user acceptance was evaluated across 2 pilot tests involving living or lived experts. All materials reached predefined acceptable thresholds on all rating criteria: paranoia severity (intervention items: ≥1; control items: ≤1, readability: ≥3, and length of the scenarios), and there was no systematic difference between the intervention and control group materials overall or between individual sessions within each group. For item graphics, we also found no systematic differences in users' ratings of complexity (P=.68), attractiveness (P=.15), and interest (P=.14) between intervention and control group materials. User acceptance testing of the mobile app found that it is easy to use and navigate, interactive, and helpful. Material development for any new digital therapeutic requires an iterative and rigorous process of testing involving multiple contributing groups. Appropriate user-centered development can create user-friendly mobile health apps, which may improve face validity and have a greater chance of being engaging and acceptable to the target end users.

Impaired face symmetry detection under alcohol, but no 'beer goggles' effect.

The 'beer goggles' phenomenon describes sexual attraction to individuals when alcohol intoxicated whom we would not desire when sober. One possible explanation of the effect is that alcohol impairs the detection of facial asymmetry, thus lowering the drinker's threshold for physical attraction. We therefore tested the hypotheses that higher breath alcohol drinkers would award more generous ratings of attractiveness to asymmetrical faces, and be poorer at discriminating bilateral facial asymmetry than less intoxicated counterparts. Ninety-nine male and female bar patrons rated 18 individual faces for attractiveness and symmetry. Each type of rating was given twice, once per face with an enhanced asymmetry and once again for each face in its natural form. Participants then judged which of two same-face versions (one normal, the other perfectly symmetrised) was more attractive and, in the final task, more symmetrical. Alcohol had no influence on attractiveness judgements but higher blood alcohol concentrations were associated with higher symmetry ratings. Furthermore, as predicted, heavily intoxicated individuals were less able to distinguish natural from perfectly symmetrised face versions than more sober drinkers. Findings therefore suggest alcohol impairs face asymmetry detection, but it seems that this perceptual distortion does not contribute to the 'beer goggles' phenomenon.

Can ChatGPT assist in picking stocks?

This paper studies whether ChatGPT-4 with access to the internet is able to provide valuable investment advice and evaluate financial information in a timely manner. Using a live experiment, we find a positive correlation between ChatGPT-4 ratings and future earnings announcements and stock returns. We find evidence that ChatGPT-4 adjusts ratings in response to earnings surprises and news events information in a timely manner. An investment strategy based on “attractiveness ratings” by ChatGPT-4 yields positive returns.

Do Physical Attractiveness and Personality Traits Predict Romantic Partner Evaluations? A Speed‐Dating Study in Japan1,2

AbstractThe speed‐dating procedure allows researchers to closely investigate relationship‐initiation situations. Although previous speed‐dating studies identified physical attractiveness, earning prospects, and reciprocity as predictors of romantic attraction, few such studies have been conducted outside Europe or North America. The current speed‐dating study examined what factors would predict attraction ratings by potential partners among the Japanese—an understudied sample. Participants included 27 men and 28 women who first completed a questionnaire to measure individual attributes. During each speed‐dating session, 12–15 men and women talked for 3 minutes and evaluated each opposite‐gender participant on attraction and dating intentions. Results of the social relations model showed that men evaluated women who were more physically attractive and achieved higher education as more attractive. These results imply that men tend to generalize their first impressions of women's physical attractiveness to other aspects of the partner, and that Japanese men may consider dual income as a necessity for marriage.